Sri Lanka grab automatic 2019 World Cup berth at Windies' expense

Interestingly, England, where cricket was born, have never won the World Cup.

The Windies, who have 78 points in the ODI team rankings, can not overtake Sri Lanka (86 points) ahead of the September 30 cutoff for automatic qualification regardless of how they do in the remaining four games in England.

"It's no secret that we have been going through a tough time, but I want to say a big, big thank you to our fans who've kept faith with us when things looked bleak", he said in an ICC news release. He had suffered a torn hamstring during Sri Lanka's tour of South Africa in January, and did not play global cricket again until June.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's former skipper Angelo Mathews was ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan next week due to injury, the cricket board said on Wednesday.

"We have a clear plan towards the World Cup, and we will work hard at achieving each step". The second Test, which is Sri Lanka's first pink-ball outing, starts on October 6 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, followed by five ODIs and three T20Is.

Only a 5-0 series win or 4-0 with a tie or no-result against England would have seen West Indies pip Sri Lanka before the cut-off point.

However, their loss means Sri Lanka, 86 points, are now the the last team to automatically qualify for the World Cup to be hosted by England. West Indies meanwhile will have to play a qualifying tournament in 2018.